Novelty luggage tags help prevent embarrassing oversights
Issue 124: Jan/Feb 2019
We all have a checklist, formal or not, that we consult before casting off. Depending on our boats and ambitions, to-do list items can range from “drain plug installed” to “ice in the cooler” to “South Seas charts aboard.” I’ve always kept my checklist in my head, though I seem to recall my memory being more reliable in past decades.
With a new good old boat come new boxes on the check- list. Bright Eyes is a Catalina 22, our first trailer-sailer, and even before her hull kisses the sea we need to address a number of tasks that I never had to consider with our previous boat with its fixed keel. While it would be hard to overlook stepping the mast or extending the trailer tongue before backing her down the ramp, I have forgotten to remove her trailer strap at least once.
But no more. I’ve found an effective and amusing way to remind myself of some of the jobs we have to perform between arriving at the water and setting sail. My idea comes from the world of aviation, where pilots (and ground crew for larger planes) have their own critical pre-takeoff lists to address.
I once owned a couple of authentic “Remove Before Flight” streamers that I purchased at a surplus store. I never found an application for a 2-foot-long flag attached to 3 feet of steel cable, but I have since found miniature versions that are 5 inches in length and intended as novelty luggage tags. They are widely available on eBay and Amazon in a variety of colors and with different messages, including “Insert Before Flight,” “Rescue,” and even “Pull to Eject.”
The tags are nicely embroidered and include heavy split rings installed through grommets, yet they were so inexpensive that I purchased two lots of 10 for $16.48, including shipping. Because I had a surplus, I’ve made gifts of a half dozen each to friends and fellow Catalina 22 owners. So far, I have installed them on my mast crutch, the bow-roller assembly for my mast- raising rig, and, of course, on Bright Eyes’ trailer strap. I think on a bigger boat, the “Pull to Eject” flag might appropriately be applied to an overboard discharge valve . . .
Cory Carpenter’s uncle taught him to sail when he was in high school. When his family relocated from the Pacific “Northwet,” he left his beloved San Juan 24 behind. He now lives on a subtropical island between the ICW and the Atlantic. There are palm trees but also sand gnats. He writes software for a living, very occasional magazine articles for fun, and is presently refurbishing the latest member of the Free Scottish Navy, Bright Eyes, a 1982 Catalina 22.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
